Official Eternal IM WAMC Thread

[Deecee2DO]

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Similar to an earlier poster but a little different in terms of step and research

Med School: East coast MD ("ranked" 80-100)
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 260
Clerkship grades: All honors (8/8)
Class rank: 1st Quartile
Research: 1 university poster prior to med school, presented 1 national poster in med school, contributed to a project that resulted in 2 abstracts/posters (didn't present, international conferences), though we're working on a manuscript but probably won't even be submitted until the fall
AOA: Yes
Gold Humanism: Hasnt been announced yet, but probably
ECs: Lots of volunteer and community service hours, lots of leadership and involvement with administration and the school, bunch of tutoring and mentoring, worked various unique jobs and explored interesting hobbies throughout med school
Red flags: No

How am I looking for "Top 20" programs despite the lack of pubs? I'd potentially have a decent amount of things "submitted" by ERAS (manuscript, 1-3 case reports) but I imagine this doesn't actually mean anything or can even be reported on ERAS? I, of course, will still be applying to strong mid/upper-mid tier academic programs as well.

@gutonc can my "je ne sais quoi" be that I once worked in a traveling circus😛

If I'm still good for T20 programs which ones are a complete no-go?

I guess to give an example of T20 I mean programs like MGH, UCSF, UCLA, JHU, Brigham, BIDMS, Mayo, UMich, Columbia, Cornell, NYU, Sinai, Standford, UChicago, UPenn, WashU with a particular interest in the bolded

Youre def qualified for T20 my friend. strong work! USMD AOA 260 all honors makes your app excellent only thing holding you back is your subpar research it seems. Youll likely match T25. Big 4 is always hard to predict they are just insanely competitive and get a bunch of applicants just like you. Youll likely get an interview(s) from the T10 but tough to say with your research being slightly below avg. Apply to the T40 programs and see how you do. Well done

PS please put worked in travelling circus on your hobbies section if thats true lol people underestimate the utility of this section

 

[WAMCBURNER]

Alright lets give this a shot. Interested in cardiology or PCCM.

Med School: Mid tier MD
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 257
Clerkship grades: Honors in psych, HP in IM, OB, Peds, FM, P in surgery and neurology
Class rank: Third quartile
Research: 2 publications, 3 abstracts, 2 posters - mostly IM subspecialties, a couple are public health related. One first author abstract, the rest is middle author.
AOA: No
ECs: A little bit of leadership, some light volunteering, nothing special.
Red Flags: None

Considering (in no particular order):
Thomas Jefferson
Temple
Penn State
Robert Wood Johnson
NJMS
Lahey Clinic
Cooper
Wake Forest
UVA
Hackensack
Hofstra
UConn
Virginia Commonwealth
EVMS
George Washington
Henry Ford
Cincinnati
U Mass
Mainline Health -Lankenau
St. Luke's - Bethlehem
Allegheny
Maryland
Lehigh Valley Hospital

Basically, my feeling is that my poor class rank, mediocre clinical grades and lack of significant ECs/AOA/med school prestige hurt, but my hope is a pretty good step 2 score + decent research output keep me in the ballgame for a good academic program even if the top tier is out. I'd prefer to stay in the midatlantic/northeast, but I'm open to moving south or to the Midwest. Any thoughts on my list so far? Suggestions for programs I could consider adding?

 

[Deecee2DO]

Alright lets give this a shot. Interested in cardiology or PCCM.

Med School: Mid tier MD
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 257
Clerkship grades: Honors in psych, HP in IM, OB, Peds, FM, P in surgery and neurology
Class rank: Third quartile
Research: 2 publications, 3 abstracts, 2 posters - mostly IM subspecialties, a couple are public health related. One first author abstract, the rest is middle author.
AOA: No
ECs: A little bit of leadership, some light volunteering, nothing special.
Red Flags: None

Considering (in no particular order):
Thomas Jefferson
Temple
Penn State
Robert Wood Johnson
NJMS
Lahey Clinic
Cooper
Wake Forest
UVA
Hackensack
Hofstra
UConn
Virginia Commonwealth
EVMS
George Washington
Henry Ford
Cincinnati
U Mass
Mainline Health -Lankenau
St. Luke's - Bethlehem
Allegheny
Maryland
Lehigh Valley Hospital

Basically, my feeling is that my poor class rank, mediocre clinical grades and lack of significant ECs/AOA/med school prestige hurt, but my hope is a pretty good step 2 score + decent research output keep me in the ballgame for a good academic program even if the top tier is out. I'd prefer to stay in the midatlantic/northeast, but I'm open to moving south or to the Midwest. Any thoughts on my list so far? Suggestions for programs I could consider adding?

add Georgetown Dartmouth, Brown, UVA rush tufts and Cleveland clinic

 

[calm_im]

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the advice provided over the years on this forum. I was hoping to get some input on my list, as I really have no idea what I’m doing.

I'm also quite concerned about getting a HP in my IM Sub-I. Can anyone weigh in on the impact that might have?

Med School: T30
M1-M2 grades: Not ranked, all P/F
M3-4 grades: All honors (7/9) except OBGYN (HP) and unfortunately IM sub-I (HP)
Step 1: P
Step 2: 270-275
AOA: Not decided yet, but possible
GHHS: Not decided yet, but possible

Research: 6 publications (highest 2nd author in high-impact journal), 3 abstracts. 2 additional projects in the works. Research is a mix of IM subspecialty and public health.

Extracurriculars: Multiple school leadership experiences, mentoring, tutoring, previous research employment.

LORs (all anticipated to be strong):
- M3 IM preceptor
- M4 IM Sub-I preceptor
- Subspecialty letter
- IM Chair letter

Geographic Signaling: Pacific West (hometown and close family ties), South Atlantic, Middle Atlantic, New England

Red flags: None

Goals:
- Interested in cardiology or GI (I know, I know)
- Ideally aiming for T20 academic IM program

Reaches: JHH, UCSF, MGH, BWH, Duke, UW, Cornell, Columbia, UCLA? Stanford?

Targets: UCSD, UTSW, Michigan, Colorado, Cedars, UC Irvine, UNC, Mayo AZ, USC, Chicago, Northwestern, Emory, NYU, Mt. Sinai, UPMC, Cleveland Clinic, BIDMC

Safeties: California Kaiser programs, UCLA Olive View, UCLA Harbor, Highland Hospital, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (would love additional input)

Thanks again!

 

[Vyzzle]

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the advice provided over the years on this forum. I was hoping to get some input on my list, as I really have no idea what I’m doing.

I'm also quite concerned about getting a HP in my IM Sub-I. Can anyone weigh in on the impact that might have?

Med School: T30
M1-M2 grades: Not ranked, all P/F
M3-4 grades: All honors (7/9) except OBGYN (HP) and unfortunately IM sub-I (HP)
Step 1: P
Step 2: 270-275
AOA: Not decided yet, but possible
GHHS: Not decided yet, but possible

Research: 6 publications (highest 2nd author in high-impact journal), 3 abstracts. 2 additional projects in the works. Research is a mix of IM subspecialty and public health.

Extracurriculars: Multiple school leadership experiences, mentoring, tutoring, previous research employment.

LORs (all anticipated to be strong):
- M3 IM preceptor
- M4 IM Sub-I preceptor
- Subspecialty letter
- IM Chair letter

Geographic Signaling: Pacific West (hometown and close family ties), South Atlantic, Middle Atlantic, New England

Red flags: None

Goals:
- Interested in cardiology or GI (I know, I know)
- Ideally aiming for T20 academic IM program

Reaches: JHH, UCSF, MGH, BWH, Duke, UW, Cornell, Columbia, UCLA? Stanford?

Targets: UCSD, UTSW, Michigan, Colorado, Cedars, UC Irvine, UNC, Mayo AZ, USC, Chicago, Northwestern, Emory, NYU, Mt. Sinai, UPMC, Cleveland Clinic, BIDMC

Safeties: California Kaiser programs, UCLA Olive View, UCLA Harbor, Highland Hospital, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (would love additional input)

Thanks again!

Even with the HP in the Sub-I you have a highly competitive app. Your reaches still seem to be well within your targets. A good list overall though

 

[whoknows2012]

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the advice provided over the years on this forum. I was hoping to get some input on my list, as I really have no idea what I’m doing.

I'm also quite concerned about getting a HP in my IM Sub-I. Can anyone weigh in on the impact that might have?

Med School: T30
M1-M2 grades: Not ranked, all P/F
M3-4 grades: All honors (7/9) except OBGYN (HP) and unfortunately IM sub-I (HP)
Step 1: P
Step 2: 270-275
AOA: Not decided yet, but possible
GHHS: Not decided yet, but possible

Research: 6 publications (highest 2nd author in high-impact journal), 3 abstracts. 2 additional projects in the works. Research is a mix of IM subspecialty and public health.

Extracurriculars: Multiple school leadership experiences, mentoring, tutoring, previous research employment.

LORs (all anticipated to be strong):
- M3 IM preceptor
- M4 IM Sub-I preceptor
- Subspecialty letter
- IM Chair letter

Geographic Signaling: Pacific West (hometown and close family ties), South Atlantic, Middle Atlantic, New England

Red flags: None

Goals:
- Interested in cardiology or GI (I know, I know)
- Ideally aiming for T20 academic IM program

Reaches: JHH, UCSF, MGH, BWH, Duke, UW, Cornell, Columbia, UCLA? Stanford?

Targets: UCSD, UTSW, Michigan, Colorado, Cedars, UC Irvine, UNC, Mayo AZ, USC, Chicago, Northwestern, Emory, NYU, Mt. Sinai, UPMC, Cleveland Clinic, BIDMC

Safeties: California Kaiser programs, UCLA Olive View, UCLA Harbor, Highland Hospital, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (would love additional input)

Thanks again!

List looks good but Mayo az is not a target. It’s a safety. If you get aoa you’ll def get some looks from T20. HP in IM sub I could present a small problem if you dont get aoa but pedigree should be helpful for you.

If truly interested in mid Atlantic and New England you’ll need more programs in the target category ie BU Dartmouth Jeff Monte (Albert Einstein COM) Rutgers Georgetown

 

[calm_im]

Thank you for both for your feedback! Those are good suggestions for mid-Atlantic/NE additions -- I'll try to revise my list accordingly.

 

[Deecee2DO]

List looks good but Mayo az is not a target. It’s a safety. If you get aoa you’ll def get some looks from T20. HP in IM sub I could present a small problem if you dont get aoa but pedigree should be helpful for you.

If truly interested in mid Atlantic and New England you’ll need more programs in the target category ie BU Dartmouth Jeff Monte (Albert Einstein COM) Rutgers Georgetown

add brown and uva. Rutgers is a safety

 

[Deecee2DO]

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the advice provided over the years on this forum. I was hoping to get some input on my list, as I really have no idea what I’m doing.

I'm also quite concerned about getting a HP in my IM Sub-I. Can anyone weigh in on the impact that might have?

Med School: T30
M1-M2 grades: Not ranked, all P/F
M3-4 grades: All honors (7/9) except OBGYN (HP) and unfortunately IM sub-I (HP)
Step 1: P
Step 2: 270-275
AOA: Not decided yet, but possible
GHHS: Not decided yet, but possible

Research: 6 publications (highest 2nd author in high-impact journal), 3 abstracts. 2 additional projects in the works. Research is a mix of IM subspecialty and public health.

Extracurriculars: Multiple school leadership experiences, mentoring, tutoring, previous research employment.

LORs (all anticipated to be strong):
- M3 IM preceptor
- M4 IM Sub-I preceptor
- Subspecialty letter
- IM Chair letter

Geographic Signaling: Pacific West (hometown and close family ties), South Atlantic, Middle Atlantic, New England

Red flags: None

Goals:
- Interested in cardiology or GI (I know, I know)
- Ideally aiming for T20 academic IM program

Reaches: JHH, UCSF, MGH, BWH, Duke, UW, Cornell, Columbia, UCLA? Stanford?

Targets: UCSD, UTSW, Michigan, Colorado, Cedars, UC Irvine, UNC, Mayo AZ, USC, Chicago, Northwestern, Emory, NYU, Mt. Sinai, UPMC, Cleveland Clinic, BIDMC

Safeties: California Kaiser programs, UCLA Olive View, UCLA Harbor, Highland Hospital, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (would love additional input)

Thanks again!

your safeties should essentially be lower mid tier programs the ones you have you’re selling yourself short you shouldn’t really be applying to community programs with an app like yours you’re within reach for the big four and the T10 you can pretty much apply anywhere you want. You have the scores the research and the Pedegree.

 

[calm_im]

your safeties should essentially be lower mid tier programs the ones you have you’re selling yourself short you shouldn’t really be applying to community programs with an app like yours you’re within reach for the big four and the T10 you can pretty much apply anywhere you want. You have the scores the research and the Pedegree.

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the vote of confidence and for clarifying how I should be conceptualizing safety programs!

 

[SweetBurger]

Late onset interest in IM as i quite enjoyed 4th year IM subspecialty rotations, Could i pull it together to match at a strong IM program?

Current Status: MS3
School: ~T60 MD in the NE
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 260-265
Pre-clinical: P/F
Clinical grades: 3 H (1 in IM), 3 HP, 1 P
Class Ranking: i think upper 1/3rd at best, at worst top 1/2
AOA: unlikely? nominated though
Research:
- 3 oral/podium presentations in rads, 1 winning an abstract award (middle author)
- 1 poster presentation in rads, won award (presenting author)
- 1 poster in basic science presented at 2 conferences (middle author)
- 1 case report rads (first author)
- 1 poster in surgical subspecialty (middle author)
- 1 poster in IM (first author)
- book chapter rads related (1st author) published hopefully by eras
- workin on 2 manuscripts rads and 1 manuscript surgical subspecialty that may or may not be accepted by eras
- will be submitting RO1 grant (name on it) this october or next feb
EC’s:
1 community outreach related leadership position
tutoring
LORs:
Rads letter from person ive been doing research with for sometime, 1 IM letter , nothing else letters wise

I'm so new to this I have no idea what like target reach or safety programs would be. I would like to go to the south or NE

 

[Deecee2DO]

Late onset interest in IM as i quite enjoyed 4th year IM subspecialty rotations, Could i pull it together to match at a strong IM program?

Current Status: MS3
School: ~T60 MD in the NE
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 260-265
Pre-clinical: P/F
Clinical grades: 3 H (1 in IM), 3 HP, 1 P
Class Ranking: i think upper 1/3rd at best, at worst top 1/2
AOA: unlikely? nominated though
Research:
- 3 oral/podium presentations in rads, 1 winning an abstract award (middle author)
- 1 poster presentation in rads, won award (presenting author)
- 1 poster in basic science presented at 2 conferences (middle author)
- 1 case report rads (first author)
- 1 poster in surgical subspecialty (middle author)
- 1 poster in IM (first author)
- book chapter rads related (1st author) published hopefully by eras
- workin on 2 manuscripts rads and 1 manuscript surgical subspecialty that may or may not be accepted by eras
- will be submitting RO1 grant (name on it) this october or next feb
EC’s:
1 community outreach related leadership position
tutoring
LORs:
Rads letter from person ive been doing research with for sometime, 1 IM letter , nothing else letters wise

I'm so new to this I have no idea what like target reach or safety programs would be. I would like to go to the south or NE

Very solid app I would say. More Limited options due to geographic preference. we could add more if willing to go outside NE and south (ie chicago programs and other midwest programs)

Places you should apply: UNC, BU, Emory, Vanderbilt, Baylor, UTSW, Sinai, NYU, Cornell, BIDMC, Yale, UAB, Pitt, Cleveland Clinic, Case, Brown, UVA, Dartmouth, Wake Forest, Jeff, UMaryland, Georgetown, Tufts, Monte, VCU, Temple, RWJ, Rochester, UVM, Temple

Reaches: BWH, MGH, Hopkins, Duke, Columbia, Penn (HUP)

 

[tanbrucewayne]

I will take it at face value that your profile does not have any other red flags and you just had an unfortunate outcome in the match as it seems to have happened to many of your peers in the cycle this year despite having what I perceive to be a fairly solid/competitive application. While 60 programs might seem a bit overkill given your profile when taken in isolation, I would not fault you for over-applying and I personally would probably do the same. Having a top tier medical school coupled with solid Step scores and fairly robust research experience will certainly help your competitiveness for interviews at some of those top 25 type programs so I don't really have as much concern that you won't match into at least one academic program. My only advice is to just having a good answer if anyone ever asks you why you're making the switch from whatever surgical specialty you initially desired to now internal medicine rather than re-applying especially if you're doing a surgical prelim year

Hi all - would love any advice about re-applying to IM after not matching into a surgical specialty this past year. I will be completing a surgery preliminary year at my home institution which also has a top 20 IM program.

Med School: Top 20
Step 1 / Level 1: 24X
Step 2 / Level 2: 26X
Clerkship grades: P/F
Class rank: N/A
Research: 15+ publications (4+ first author, mix of oncology, allergy & immunology, and surgical research), 30+ (pubs/abstracts/etc.)
LORs: Surgery PD, IM chair, medical director of the free clinic (strong letter), primary research mentor (pathologist)
Gold Humanism/AOA: No and N/A
ECs: Extensive volunteer work with the student-run free clinic, including multiple leadership and longitudinal positions; positions in medical school and medical center committees
Red flags: Previous MD graduate, completing a surgical prelim year
Career goals: First of all, hoping to match into any categorical position. I am interested in being a physician-scientist and my clinical interest are medical oncology, cardiology, and critical care. Ideally, I would like to match at a more academic-oriented place in the ~top 50. Not sure if research tracks or PSTP are completely out of the equation, but I assume so based on the combination of being a re-applicant and not being an MD/PhD. A plus but not a necessity would be a large Spanish-speaking patient population as I am fluent and Latinx. Ties to the west coast, east coast, and South.

Questions:

• How many programs should I apply to? Currently, have a list of ~60 programs with about equal numbers in the high/mid/low tiers.
• What should my expectations be in terms of interviews and competitiveness?

@Deecee2DO @obiwan would appreciate your input.

Do y'all think this is casting a wide enough net? And any additional suggestions/changes?

Far Reach:
- UCSF, BWH, MGH, Stanford, Duke, BIDMC, UCLA, WashU, Michigan, UPenn

Reach:
-Vanderbilt, Yale, Northwestern, Emory, Cornell, UTSW, UPMC, Baylor, UNC, USC, Mount Sinai, University of Chicago

Target: Cleveland Clinic, NYU, UCSD, Boston University, Tufts, UCLA Olive View, UCLA Harbor, Cedars Sinai, Miami, UT Memphis, Rutgers RWJ, UC Davis, UC Irvine, Jefferson, Temple, MUSC, UAB, Scripps Green

Safety:
-?

 

[Deecee2DO]

Do y'all think this is casting a wide enough net? And any additional suggestions/changes?

Far Reach:
- UCSF, BWH, MGH, Stanford, Duke, BIDMC, UCLA, WashU, Michigan, UPenn

Reach:
-Vanderbilt, Yale, Northwestern, Emory, Cornell, UTSW, UPMC, Baylor, UNC, USC, Mount Sinai, University of Chicago

Target: Cleveland Clinic, NYU, UCSD, Boston University, Tufts, UCLA Olive View, UCLA Harbor, Cedars Sinai, Miami, UT Memphis, Rutgers RWJ, UC Davis, UC Irvine, Jefferson, Temple, MUSC, UAB, Scripps Green

Safety:
-?

260 step two top 20 US MD school and a ridiculous number of publications that alone makes you an extremely competitive applicant however, with the obvious red flag of not matching previously this changes things but I think because you’re such a competitive applicant aside from that and others may disagree I don’t think you’ll have any issue getting into a top 40 program to be honest with you. I don’t know how much it’s going to affect you you could match at a T20 place like Yale or Northwestern or you may match at some midtier program like Wake Forest or Georgetown tier. It’s tough to say, but regardless I think you’ll be fine. Apply broadly to say 50-70 programs and include some community programs just to be safe bc honestly not matching again would be lethal if you dont apply broadly enough. Also USC UNC belong in target and your reaches are still doable. Add Wake Forest Georgetown Brown Dartmouth UMaryland Rochester UFlorida and UVA to your targets. your Super reaches will be very challenging imo but hey never kno your situation is different but not all uncommon

 

[obiwan]

Do y'all think this is casting a wide enough net? And any additional suggestions/changes?

Far Reach:
- UCSF, BWH, MGH, Stanford, Duke, BIDMC, UCLA, WashU, Michigan, UPenn

Reach:
-Vanderbilt, Yale, Northwestern, Emory, Cornell, UTSW, UPMC, Baylor, UNC, USC, Mount Sinai, University of Chicago

Target: Cleveland Clinic, NYU, UCSD, Boston University, Tufts, UCLA Olive View, UCLA Harbor, Cedars Sinai, Miami, UT Memphis, Rutgers RWJ, UC Davis, UC Irvine, Jefferson, Temple, MUSC, UAB, Scripps Green

Safety:
-?

Thats a good list. You can throw in Loma Linda and Santa Clara Valley to round out all the main Cali programs and since I'm a Texan, you could also apply to UT Houston/UT San Antonio/Dell UT Austin if you wanted more programs

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

Late onset interest in IM as i quite enjoyed 4th year IM subspecialty rotations, Could i pull it together to match at a strong IM program?

Current Status: MS3
School: ~T60 MD in the NE
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 260-265
Pre-clinical: P/F
Clinical grades: 3 H (1 in IM), 3 HP, 1 P
Class Ranking: i think upper 1/3rd at best, at worst top 1/2
AOA: unlikely? nominated though
Research:
- 3 oral/podium presentations in rads, 1 winning an abstract award (middle author)
- 1 poster presentation in rads, won award (presenting author)
- 1 poster in basic science presented at 2 conferences (middle author)
- 1 case report rads (first author)
- 1 poster in surgical subspecialty (middle author)
- 1 poster in IM (first author)
- book chapter rads related (1st author) published hopefully by eras
- workin on 2 manuscripts rads and 1 manuscript surgical subspecialty that may or may not be accepted by eras
- will be submitting RO1 grant (name on it) this october or next feb
EC’s:
1 community outreach related leadership position
tutoring
LORs:
Rads letter from person ive been doing research with for sometime, 1 IM letter , nothing else letters wise

I'm so new to this I have no idea what like target reach or safety programs would be. I would like to go to the south or NE

I suspect your success will hinge less on your credentials and more on your ability to convince an app reviewer that you’re actually switching to IM and not just applying as a back up for rads (since your experiences kinda scream radiology applicant). I think you’ll get good interviews either way but a good PS will likely nab you a few places that would otherwise have passed you over

 

[Trexbuffaloapricot]

Hoping to match IM east coast but south preferably. Considering cards but unsure.
Med School: T25 East coast MD
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 270
Clerkship grades: All honors, Honors in Sub i, >90th% on most shelves with 99th for IM
Class rank: 1st Quartile
Research: 5 posters/abstracts, 1 first author middle tier submitted, 1 very high tier middle author pub, 3 mid tier middle author pubs all in IM specialty
AOA: Nope
Gold Humanism: Nope
LORS: fairly solid: 1 from M3, 2 from sub-i, one departmental
ECs: Fair amount of volunteer and community service hours, 2 leadership positions, good hobbies
Red flags: No

Current List:

Reaches: BWH, MGH, Duke, Columbia, Penn (HUP), Vandy

Target: Emory, UNC, Wake Forest, BU, UAB, Cleveland Clinic, UColorado, Case, UVA, Jeff, UMaryland, Georgetown, GW, Tufts, VCU, MUSC, UGA, Temple, Tulane

Unsure what would be safeties or shouldn't bother applying to from this list. I know AOA would help, but I'm not hellbent on a T-10 program or something.

I've just started making my list but was wondering about other schools I should apply to or if this is enough? Thank you!

 

[obiwan]

Hoping to match IM east coast but south preferably. Considering cards but unsure.
Med School: T25 East coast MD
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 270
Clerkship grades: All honors, Honors in Sub i, >90th% on most shelves with 99th for IM
Class rank: 1st Quartile
Research: 5 posters/abstracts, 1 first author middle tier submitted, 1 very high tier middle author pub, 3 mid tier middle author pubs all in IM specialty
AOA: Nope
Gold Humanism: Nope
LORS: fairly solid: 1 from M3, 2 from sub-i, one departmental
ECs: Fair amount of volunteer and community service hours, 2 leadership positions, good hobbies
Red flags: No

Current List:

Reaches: BWH, MGH, Duke, Columbia, Penn (HUP), Vandy

Target: Emory, UNC, Wake Forest, BU, UAB, Cleveland Clinic, UColorado, Case, UVA, Jeff, UMaryland, Georgetown, GW, Tufts, VCU, MUSC, UGA, Temple, Tulane

Unsure what would be safeties or shouldn't bother applying to from this list. I know AOA would help, but I'm not hellbent on a T-10 program or something.

I've just started making my list but was wondering about other schools I should apply to or if this is enough? Thank you!

You're a competitive applicant. Since you're already applying to places in NY/Maryland/Pennsylvania, why not apply to places like Hopkins/Cornell/Pitt respectively. Not sure if you're open to Texas or include that in the South but UTSW is the strongest program that you're missing from that region. I've never heard of UGA, the training program but based on a Google search of it, if it is the one associated with Augusta Univ, then I wouldn't bother with your profile

 

[Deecee2DO]

Hoping to match IM east coast but south preferably. Considering cards but unsure.
Med School: T25 East coast MD
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 270
Clerkship grades: All honors, Honors in Sub i, >90th% on most shelves with 99th for IM
Class rank: 1st Quartile
Research: 5 posters/abstracts, 1 first author middle tier submitted, 1 very high tier middle author pub, 3 mid tier middle author pubs all in IM specialty
AOA: Nope
Gold Humanism: Nope
LORS: fairly solid: 1 from M3, 2 from sub-i, one departmental
ECs: Fair amount of volunteer and community service hours, 2 leadership positions, good hobbies
Red flags: No

Current List:

Reaches: BWH, MGH, Duke, Columbia, Penn (HUP), Vandy

Target: Emory, UNC, Wake Forest, BU, UAB, Cleveland Clinic, UColorado, Case, UVA, Jeff, UMaryland, Georgetown, GW, Tufts, VCU, MUSC, UGA, Temple, Tulane

Unsure what would be safeties or shouldn't bother applying to from this list. I know AOA would help, but I'm not hellbent on a T-10 program or something.

I've just started making my list but was wondering about other schools I should apply to or if this is enough? Thank you!

You are a very competitive applicant as im sure you know. Youll probably match T10. WF GT Tufts GW VCU MUSC UGA Temple and Tulane are likely safeties for you but you should always have safeties. Add Hopkins (Reach but still very doable), UTSW/Baylor/NYU/Sinai/Cornell/Yale (targets), Brown/Dartmouth (targets to safeties)

 

[Deecee2DO]

Hi all! Hoping for some advice on where I stand. Hoping to match in SoCal due to familial reasons and interested in Heme Onc fellowship!

Med School: mid tier California MD
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 258
Clerkship grades: All HP (8/8) 😵 I have consistently been on the cusp of Honors and HP for 6/8 rotations
Class rank: 3rd Quartile
Research: 4 abstracts, 4 posters, 5 publications
AOA: No
Gold Humanism: Yes
ECs: Lot of advocacy work, interesting teaching experiences and leadership
Red flags: No

Unfortunately my clinical grades weren't strong, but all my comments are very positive.
While I would prefer to stay in a SoCal academic center (would love UCLA, UCSD, USC, UCI), I am planning to still apply broadly along the east and west coast but just not sure how many programs I should be applying to and what "tier" I should be reaching for.

Open to any advice, thank you!!

Youre a strong applicant great step 2 clinical grades are not bad per se but not excellent and you have strong research. Youll probs get interviews at any of those programs (UCLA UCSD USC UCI) in my opinion. I think 40 programs is a safe bet. I think targets for you will be mid tier upper mid tier and some T30s. In the east good targets will be UNC UVA BU Brown Cleveland Clinic UMiami Dartmouth Georgetown Wake Forest Tufts Jefferson UMaryland. Some doable reaches that you may or may not get interviews from are Yale Emory NYU Sinai Cornell BIDMC Northwestern. Super reaches will be Penn MGH Duke JHH BWH Columbia Vandy. I think Northwestern is also a great program but understand you may not want to be in that geographic location

 

[OhFlDO]

Med School: Established DO program
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 260-265
Clerkship grades: All honors
Class rank: Top 2-3%
Research: 2 supporting author clinical pubs, 5 case report pubs (2 primary author), 2 poster presentations that both placed at city/regional conferences
ECs: Significant leadership experience in preclinical club, very involved in ~2 volunteer organizations
Red flags: No
LORs (should all be strong):
- M3 IM clerkship director
- IM Chair letter
-FM Chair letter
-Will look to get M4 letter

Goals:
- Interested in heme/onc (or GI but less likely)
- Ideally aiming for T20 academic IM program in south/northeast/midwest areas:

Programs I am interested in (no order)
Northwestern
Rush
Mayo
Vandy
UVA
UNC
Wake Forest
Ohio State
Cleveland Clinic
USF/Tampa Gen
UMiami
Georgetown
Cincinatti
Dartmouth
Yale
Tufts
BIDMC (??)
JHU Bayfront (??)

Looking for suggestions of programs to add. Which of these would be considered reaches (as a DO) and which should I target?

Thanks!

 

[obiwan]

Med School: Established DO program
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 260-265
Clerkship grades: All honors
Class rank: Top 2-3%
Research: 2 supporting author clinical pubs, 5 case report pubs (2 primary author), 2 poster presentations that both placed at city/regional conferences
ECs: Significant leadership experience in preclinical club, very involved in ~2 volunteer organizations
Red flags: No
LORs (should all be strong):
- M3 IM clerkship director
- IM Chair letter
-FM Chair letter
-Will look to get M4 letter

Goals:
- Interested in heme/onc (or GI but less likely)
- Ideally aiming for T20 academic IM program in south/northeast/midwest areas:

Programs I am interested in (no order)
Northwestern
Rush
Mayo
Vandy
UVA
UNC
Wake Forest
Ohio State
Cleveland Clinic
USF/Tampa Gen
UMiami
Georgetown
Cincinatti
Dartmouth
Yale
Tufts
BIDMC (??)
JHU Bayfront (??)

Looking for suggestions of programs to add. Which of these would be considered reaches (as a DO) and which should I target?

Thanks!

I believe @Deecee2DO can give more insight into which programs are DO friendly. Off the top of my head, University of Washington and Baylor College of Medicine are 2 other programs in that top 30ish tier that have DOs on their housestaff roster. You should be a potential candidate for pretty much all the programs on your list with exception to Beth Israel, Northwestern, Yale, UNC, and UVA (doesn't mean you can't apply to them)

 

[Deecee2DO]

Med School: Established DO program
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 260-265
Clerkship grades: All honors
Class rank: Top 2-3%
Research: 2 supporting author clinical pubs, 5 case report pubs (2 primary author), 2 poster presentations that both placed at city/regional conferences
ECs: Significant leadership experience in preclinical club, very involved in ~2 volunteer organizations
Red flags: No
LORs (should all be strong):
- M3 IM clerkship director
- IM Chair letter
-FM Chair letter
-Will look to get M4 letter

Goals:
- Interested in heme/onc (or GI but less likely)
- Ideally aiming for T20 academic IM program in south/northeast/midwest areas:

Programs I am interested in (no order)
Northwestern
Rush
Mayo
Vandy
UVA
UNC
Wake Forest
Ohio State
Cleveland Clinic
USF/Tampa Gen
UMiami
Georgetown
Cincinatti
Dartmouth
Yale
Tufts
BIDMC (??)
JHU Bayfront (??)

Looking for suggestions of programs to add. Which of these would be considered reaches (as a DO) and which should I target?

Thanks!

Excellent DO applicant. PM me and i can give you some guidance but statistically on paper youre competitive for all of those programs but unfortunately as we all know some programs just wont take DOs even some programs that are far worse than others that have taken DOs (ie Vandy interviews a select few every year and took 2 this year where as UVA essentially throws DO apps in the trash yet Vandy is several tiers better than UVA). Non DO friendly programs on this list regardless of stats or their tier for that matter are UVA Tufts BIDMC and Northwestern. Yale Mayo and UNC have taken a select few DOs in the history of the program but havent in quite some time so i still wouldnt consider them even remotely DO friendly

 

[OhFlDO]

Excellent DO applicant. PM me and i can give you some guidance but statistically on paper youre competitive for all of those programs but unfortunately as we all know some programs just wont take DOs even some programs that are far worse than others that have taken DOs (ie Vandy interviews a select few every year and took 2 this year where as UVA essentially throws DO apps in the trash yet Vandy is several tiers better than UVA). Non DO friendly programs on this list regardless of stats or their tier for that matter are UVA Tufts BIDMC and Northwestern. Yale Mayo and UNC have taken a select few DOs in the history of the program but havent in quite some time so i still wouldnt consider them even remotely DO friendly

Thank you for this. Are there any other programs you would recommend be added? Even outside of the area I mentioned. Any academic programs out west?

 

[Deecee2DO]

Thank you for this. Are there any other programs you would recommend be added? Even outside of the area I mentioned. Any academic programs out west?

Add WashU, Baylor, Emory, BU, Brown, VCU, Jefferson, GW, Temple, UVM, Ohio State, Tulane (some issue with accreditation a few years ago but not sure if they worked this out or not), UFlorida, USF. Keep in mind BU WashU Emory and Baylor have interviewed the top DOs but rarely match them so these are huge reaches rest are targets with Brown and Ohio State being target to borderline reach. Some good safeties for you would be Pennsy (Penn’s community program), Carilion Clinic at Virginia Tech, Univ of South Carolina, EVMS, ECU, NJMS, Univ of Arizona, Cooper, UTennessee, Penn State. Out west (CA) is tough unless you have ties there they highly favor CA residents. I know these programs are geographically all over the place but as a DO you gotta cast a wide net if youre applying essentially only academic programs. I had a very similar app to yours and i applied to 60-70+ programs I suggest you apply to around the same and you should do well. Id imagine youll get some baller interviews excited to see what happens good luck

 

[The English American]

Med School: USMD, unranked new public university medical school in last 10 years
Grad School: MPhil from a UK school (before med school; also went to undergrad in UK)
Preclinical grades: Not ranked, all P/F
Clerkship grades: All honors (7/8) except for EM, which is required for us. Currently on IM sub-I at home institution and aiming/expecting honors as well. Will also have MICU grade before submitting ERAS. No aways planned.
Step 1: P
Step 2 CK: 258 - 263
AOA: Yes, recently inducted as junior AOA
GHHS: No, was not selected
Research: 11 pubs (first author on 7, 4 are in high-impact, 3 in higher/medium-impact, 4 in standard impact), 2 manuscripts submitted/under review at this time, 6 published abstracts, 5 podium/oral presentations, 14 posters, co-investigator on an active small interdisciplinary grant at my school. Research is primarily comprised of infectious diseases, mental health, and global health equity - most pubs are from longitudinal research experience w/ PI for the past 5 years
Extracurriculars: Spent my built-in research year in Peru doing community-based mental health and TB research and volunteering work, couple school leadership experiences in global health and IM, involved in a setting up a future clinical exchange program b/w our school and our partner institution in Central America and designed global health enrichment elective, some mentoring w/ underclassmen
LORs (anticipated to be strong):

1. Primary care preceptor (also IM faculty and associate PD for IM residency at home program) - clinical LOR
2. Senior attending on my IM clerkship - clinical LOR
3. Anticipated LOR from sub-I and/or MICU rotation - clinical LOR - TBD
4. Research PI (who I worked w/ for past 5 yrs) - letter to comment on my research competencies and suitability for a career in academic medicine
5. Chief of Division of Global Health - global health/program-based LOR
6. IM Chair Letter - standard requirement

Preliminary Geographic Signaling: New England (previously lived in this region for several years and would like to come back), Pacific West, and likely Middle Atlantic but still tbd

Home region is West South Central but not interested in staying, unless that would be a mistake?

Red flags: None
Career Goals:
- Interested in an academic career in global health and possibly infectious diseases but remain open to other subspecialties
- Ideally aiming for T20 academic IM program

I’m only interested in academic programs either with integrated global health tracks/pathways or at least those with protected time/opportunities for residents to work w/ partner institutions around the world (preference for Latin America but not a dealbreaker). I’m at a relatively new public med school/unranked so I worry about how realistic I can aim/shoot for T20s despite my objective metrics listed above. Would appreciate some input as I try to put together my app list and where I could allocate/distribute my limited signals. Some initial ideas below w/ good global health programs

Hard Reaches: MGH, BWH, UCSF, JHU, Duke, UW, Penn, Columbia, Stanford

Targets: BIDMC, Mt. Sinai, Yale, BCM, UTSW, Colorado, Chicago, Emory, BU

Safeties: Tufts, McGovern, UTMB, still formulating….

 

[OncOncOnc]

Med School: USMD, unranked new public university medical school in last 10 years
Grad School: MPhil from a UK school (before med school; also went to undergrad in UK)
Preclinical grades: Not ranked, all P/F
Clerkship grades: All honors (7/8) except for EM, which is required for us. Currently on IM sub-I at home institution and aiming/expecting honors as well. Will also have MICU grade before submitting ERAS. No aways planned.
Step 1: P
Step 2 CK: 258 - 263
AOA: Yes, recently inducted as junior AOA
GHHS: No, was not selected
Research: 11 pubs (first author on 7, 4 are in high-impact, 3 in higher/medium-impact, 4 in standard impact), 2 manuscripts submitted/under review at this time, 6 published abstracts, 5 podium/oral presentations, 14 posters, co-investigator on an active small interdisciplinary grant at my school. Research is primarily comprised of infectious diseases, mental health, and global health equity - most pubs are from longitudinal research experience w/ PI for the past 5 years
Extracurriculars: Spent my built-in research year in Peru doing community-based mental health and TB research and volunteering work, couple school leadership experiences in global health and IM, involved in a setting up a future clinical exchange program b/w our school and our partner institution in Central America and designed global health enrichment elective, some mentoring w/ underclassmen
LORs (anticipated to be strong):

1. Primary care preceptor (also IM faculty and associate PD for IM residency at home program) - clinical LOR
2. Senior attending on my IM clerkship - clinical LOR
3. Anticipated LOR from sub-I and/or MICU rotation - clinical LOR - TBD
4. Research PI (who I worked w/ for past 5 yrs) - letter to comment on my research competencies and suitability for a career in academic medicine
5. Chief of Division of Global Health - global health/program-based LOR
6. IM Chair Letter - standard requirement

Preliminary Geographic Signaling: New England (previously lived in this region for several years and would like to come back), Pacific West, and likely Middle Atlantic but still tbd

Home region is West South Central but not interested in staying, unless that would be a mistake?

Red flags: None
Career Goals:
- Interested in an academic career in global health and possibly infectious diseases but remain open to other subspecialties
- Ideally aiming for T20 academic IM program

I’m only interested in academic programs either with integrated global health tracks/pathways or at least those with protected time/opportunities for residents to work w/ partner institutions around the world (preference for Latin America but not a dealbreaker). I’m at a relatively new public med school/unranked so I worry about how realistic I can aim/shoot for T20s despite my objective metrics listed above. Would appreciate some input as I try to put together my app list and where I could allocate/distribute my limited signals. Some initial ideas below w/ good global health programs

Hard Reaches: MGH, BWH, UCSF, JHU, Duke, UW, Penn, Columbia, Stanford

Targets: BIDMC, Mt. Sinai, Yale, BCM, UTSW, Colorado, Chicago, Emory, BU

Safeties: Tufts, McGovern, UTMB, still formulating….

I think you’ll get lots of interview invitations from competitive places, despite being at a newer med school. Pitt, Brown, and Hopkins-Bayview are other good medicine programs with global health tracks that you might want to consider.

 

[greatonion74]

Med School: Top 25 MD

Step 1: Pass

Step 2: 270-275

Clerkship grades: Honors 4/7, High Pass in Medicine

Class rank: Unsure, likely second quarter

Research: one of many authors on 3 papers, 2 poster presentations with 1 best poster award

ECs: Significant leadership experience in interest group

Red flags: No

Honors: distinction in pre-clinical courses (top 18%), not AOA, potential Gold Humanism



Goals:

- Interested in cardiology

- Ideally aiming for T20 academic IM program in south/midwest areas that can shoot me into good fellowship. Not super interested in research but would want a program that has the resources for minimum I would have to do.



Current list includes Northwestern, University of Chicago, WashU, University of Michigan, Duke, Upenn, UTSW, Baylor, Emory, and UCLA. Any recommendations for programs?

 

[OncOncOnc]

Med School: Top 25 MD

Step 1: Pass

Step 2: 270-275

Clerkship grades: Honors 4/7, High Pass in Medicine

Class rank: Unsure, likely second quarter

Research: one of many authors on 3 papers, 2 poster presentations with 1 best poster award

ECs: Significant leadership experience in interest group

Red flags: No

Honors: distinction in pre-clinical courses (top 18%), not AOA, potential Gold Humanism



Goals:

- Interested in cardiology

- Ideally aiming for T20 academic IM program in south/midwest areas that can shoot me into good fellowship. Not super interested in research but would want a program that has the resources for minimum I would have to do.



Current list includes Northwestern, University of Chicago, WashU, University of Michigan, Duke, Upenn, UTSW, Baylor, Emory, and UCLA. Any recommendations for programs?

Your application is strong but not stand-out, and this list is heavy on reaches. Would add more upper-mid tier academic programs. For the regions you mentioned, think about UNC, UVA, Tulane, maybe Vandy (another reach), Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Case, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio Sate, Pitt. If the mid-Atlantic is an option, consider Georgetown, GW, Maryland, Hopkins Bayview, and Jefferson.

 

[Deecee2DO]

Med School: Top 25 MD

Step 1: Pass

Step 2: 270-275

Clerkship grades: Honors 4/7, High Pass in Medicine

Class rank: Unsure, likely second quarter

Research: one of many authors on 3 papers, 2 poster presentations with 1 best poster award

ECs: Significant leadership experience in interest group

Red flags: No

Honors: distinction in pre-clinical courses (top 18%), not AOA, potential Gold Humanism



Goals:

- Interested in cardiology

- Ideally aiming for T20 academic IM program in south/midwest areas that can shoot me into good fellowship. Not super interested in research but would want a program that has the resources for minimum I would have to do.



Current list includes Northwestern, University of Chicago, WashU, University of Michigan, Duke, Upenn, UTSW, Baylor, Emory, and UCLA. Any recommendations for programs?

Youre in range for T30 programs. Youll probably match at one-you have research and a 270+ from a T25 school. T10 programs will be reaches. Add some more solid mid to upper-mid tiers like UNC BU Tufts UVA Brown CCF Georgetown Dartmouth Wake Forest Jeff UMaryland just to feel safe. Youre a perfect fit for places like Northwestern Yale NYU Cornell level programs essentially Tier 2-3

 

[obiwan]

Med School: Top 25 MD

Step 1: Pass

Step 2: 270-275

Clerkship grades: Honors 4/7, High Pass in Medicine

Class rank: Unsure, likely second quarter

Research: one of many authors on 3 papers, 2 poster presentations with 1 best poster award

ECs: Significant leadership experience in interest group

Red flags: No

Honors: distinction in pre-clinical courses (top 18%), not AOA, potential Gold Humanism



Goals:

- Interested in cardiology

- Ideally aiming for T20 academic IM program in south/midwest areas that can shoot me into good fellowship. Not super interested in research but would want a program that has the resources for minimum I would have to do.



Current list includes Northwestern, University of Chicago, WashU, University of Michigan, Duke, Upenn, UTSW, Baylor, Emory, and UCLA. Any recommendations for programs?

UCLA is a bit random for your geographic preferences. Another place that hasn't been recommended is UAB.

 

[Wisco99]

Chances for Big 4 programs? (MGH/BWH/JHH/UCSF):

Med School: T10 USMD
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 280-285
Clerkship grades: 8/9 honors, 99%ile on medicine shelf
Class rank: unknown
Research: 3 published manuscripts (1 first author), 5-6 abstracts, 3 poster presentations
AOA: unknown. 50/50 shot probably
Gold Humanism: no
ECs: pretty unremarkable, some basic club stuff and volunteering
Red flags: No

 

[ladxeet]

Hello! A newcomer hoping to understand my chances for their reaches. Appreciate any feedback/setting expectations!

Med School: Low-tier MD school in Midwest
M1-M2 grades: Passed most preclinical, remediated one M1 class
M3-4 grades: 7/8 honors, HP in family medicine
Class rank: 2nd-3rd quartile
Step 1: P
Step 2: 275+
AOA: No (poor performance first two years)
GHHS: Yes

Research: 7 publications and 3 pubs awaiting decision; 7 posters, 2 regional conference research awards
Extracurriculars: Strong - developed a tutoring program for struggling students; two big leadership roles in school/region.
LORs (hopefully are strong):
- M4 IM Sub-I preceptor
- Subspecialty letter
- IM Chair letter
- Extracurricular advisor letter
Geographic Signaling: Pacific West, Middle Atlantic, New England

Red flags: Preclinical remediation, took a year off to take care of a sick family member between M2 and M3 year

Goals:
- Passionate about global health/health policy, so ideally aiming for a top academic program
Reaches: MGH, BWH, UCSF, Stanford, UCLA
Targets: UChicago, Emory, USC, BIDMC, Georgetown, UPitt
Safeties: Local Chicago/Midwest programs

Would love for anyone to set expectations, especially in regards to any setbacks!

 

[SweetBurger]

Chances for Big 4 programs? (MGH/BWH/JHH/UCSF):

Med School: T10 USMD
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 280-285
Clerkship grades: 8/9 honors, 99%ile on medicine shelf
Class rank: unknown
Research: 3 published manuscripts (1 first author), 5-6 abstracts, 3 poster presentations
AOA: unknown. 50/50 shot probably
Gold Humanism: no
ECs: pretty unremarkable, some basic club stuff and volunteering
Red flags: No

prep 4 soap

 

[obiwan]

prep 4 soap

That is the only acceptable answer

 

[obiwan]

Hello! A newcomer hoping to understand my chances for their reaches. Appreciate any feedback/setting expectations!

Med School: Low-tier MD school in Midwest
M1-M2 grades: Passed most preclinical, remediated one M1 class
M3-4 grades: 7/8 honors, HP in family medicine
Class rank: 2nd-3rd quartile
Step 1: P
Step 2: 275+
AOA: No (poor performance first two years)
GHHS: Yes

Research: 7 publications and 3 pubs awaiting decision; 7 posters, 2 regional conference research awards
Extracurriculars: Strong - developed a tutoring program for struggling students; two big leadership roles in school/region.
LORs (hopefully are strong):
- M4 IM Sub-I preceptor
- Subspecialty letter
- IM Chair letter
- Extracurricular advisor letter
Geographic Signaling: Pacific West, Middle Atlantic, New England

Red flags: Preclinical remediation, took a year off to take care of a sick family member between M2 and M3 year

Goals:
- Passionate about global health/health policy, so ideally aiming for a top academic program
Reaches: MGH, BWH, UCSF, Stanford, UCLA
Targets: UChicago, Emory, USC, BIDMC, Georgetown, UPitt
Safeties: Local Chicago/Midwest programs

Would love for anyone to set expectations, especially in regards to any setbacks!

University of Chicago and Beth Israel are reaches. Emory/UPitt/USC are appropriate as targets. Hopefully you are able to blunt the damage to your profile from your preclinical years and emphasize the strong clinical performance/research during your interviews. Good luck

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

University of Chicago and Beth Israel are reaches. Emory/UPitt/USC are not slam dunks. Hopefully you are able to blunt the damage to your profile from your preclinical years and emphasize the strong clinical performance/research during your interviews. Good luck

UChicago and BIDMS is a reach for someone with almost all honors, 275+ Step score, great research and ECs??

Not saying you're wrong, I'm just concerned what the standards are now haha

 

[Deecee2DO]

Chances for Big 4 programs? (MGH/BWH/JHH/UCSF):

Med School: T10 USMD
Step 1: Pass
Step 2: 280-285
Clerkship grades: 8/9 honors, 99%ile on medicine shelf
Class rank: unknown
Research: 3 published manuscripts (1 first author), 5-6 abstracts, 3 poster presentations
AOA: unknown. 50/50 shot probably
Gold Humanism: no
ECs: pretty unremarkable, some basic club stuff and volunteering
Red flags: No

Yes shot at Big 4. 285 is nuts btw

 

[obiwan]

UChicago and BIDMS is a reach for someone with almost all honors, 275+ Step score, great research and ECs??

Not saying you're wrong, I'm just concerned what the standards are now haha

Only reason I said those are reaches are the lower class rank tier/lack of AOA/having to remediate a class. Hopefully the OP is able to spin it during interviews to show that it was the product of having family issues that affected their true potential as shown in the 2nd half of medical school

 

[obiwan]

Yes shot at Big 4. 285 is nuts btw

Didn't even know it went that high LOL

 

[Deecee2DO]

Didn't even know it went that high LOL

Probably one of or possibly the highest score ive ever heard tbh lol

 

[obiwan]

Probably one of or possibly the highest score ive ever heard tbh lol

Honestly probably a troll post

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

Figured I should throw mine in the mix whilst I'm here.

Med school rank: Low tier Mid-Atlantic MD
USMLE Step 1: Pass
USMLE Step 2: 260-270
Class rank: Top Quartile (highest they showcase)
AOA: Yes
GHHS: Yes
Honors: All Honors, including Sub-I
Research:

• 2 peer-reviewed published abstracts + poster presentations in a >10 impact journal / both presented (not by me) at the biggest conference worldwide in this field
• 3 other posters
• Manuscript recently submitted, undergoing review, and probably not published prior to ERAS
• Case Report about to be submitted, probably not published prior to ERAS

ECs: Don't want to dox myself but have some very unique, long-term, impactful ECs as well as jobs
LORs: Currently 2 + a department letter, hoping to gain another from a reach goal away


Looking at 'top-tier' IM programs in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

My research seems to be a weak point for these types of schools from a cursory glance. What can I consider for Reaches and Targets?

 

[obiwan]

Figured I should throw mine in the mix whilst I'm here.

Med school rank: Low tier Mid-Atlantic MD
USMLE Step 1: Pass
USMLE Step 2: 260-270
Class rank: Top Quartile (highest they showcase)
AOA: Yes
GHHS: Yes
Honors: All Honors, including Sub-I
Research:

• 2 peer-reviewed published abstracts + poster presentations in a >10 impact journal / both presented (not by me) at the biggest conference worldwide in this field
• 3 other posters
• Manuscript recently submitted, undergoing review, and probably not published prior to ERAS
• Case Report about to be submitted, probably not published prior to ERAS

ECs: Don't want to dox myself but have some very unique, long-term, impactful ECs as well as jobs
LORs: Currently 2 + a department letter, hoping to gain another from a reach goal away


Looking at 'top-tier' IM programs in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

My research seems to be a weak point for these types of schools from a cursory glance. What can I consider for Reaches and Targets?

Unlike that other OP, you don't have a single red flag. Your biggest knock is that you didn't attend HMS 🙂 This is a pretty stellar profile. All the big boy programs are on the table. Hopkins/Brigham/MGH are probably still considered "reaches" just because its a crap shoot with those places but would be surprised if you didnt get at least one interview from those 3. Places like Maryland/Georgetown/Temple are safeties for you. Good luck

 

[medlife52525]

Med School: Mid-tier, northeast, MD- (rural program)
M1-M2 grades: Not ranked, all P/F
M3-4 grades: Honors (IM and FM, and Medicine AI), High pass w/ clinical honors (OB, surgery, psych, peds),
Step 1: P
Step 2: 257
Class rank: (unsure but based primarily on third-year grades so I assume average or just below average??)
AOA: No
GHHS: Not applicable

Research:
-5 publications total: Four 2nd-4th author publications technically in a surgical specialty I briefly considered but my projects focused on substance use/socioeconomic stuff that I can tie into IM + 1 basic science paper from undergrad
- 1 book (academic non-fiction book but not a peer-reviewed textbook)...side note- what category does this go in?
-2 abstracts
- 3 posters
-2 additional projects in the works.

Extracurriculars: Volunteering at a shelter, mentoring, teaching, No leadership

LORs (all anticipated to be strong):
- M4 IM Sub-I preceptor x 2
- M4 heme onc preceptor x 1
- IM Chair letter

Geographic Signaling: Northeast (hometown and close family ties),

Red flags: None

Goals:
- Interested in heme onc or doing IM primary care..(more likely heme onc because absolutely loved my last 2 months in it but still not 100% sure)
- because of fellowship interest, looking at academic places that have matched in heme onc before (I've screened the programs below)

Programs:
Targets: Albany, UMass- Worcester & Baystate, Tufts, UConn, UPMC, RWJ, BU, Temple, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Icahn

Reaches: Dartmouth, BI, BWH, MGH, Yale, Brown, UPenn, NYU, Mount Sinai, Columbia, UCSF, Stanford

-Are these targets/reaches reasonable or too top-heavy?? I was told my third years grades aren't stellar so that will affect my ranking.
I also met with our "temp" career advisor and they had literally no advice to give about school lists or anything. I would ideally like to stay in the NE or maybe cali because other family nearby (but only threw in a few reach programs there)..
-Any other programs to add?
I grew up in a rural area and hope to practice in a rural/community setting, however, I want to train at a high-volume academic institution to get as much exposure as possible. I can talk about this in my PS too..

 

[Deecee2DO]

Med School: Mid-tier, northeast, MD- (rural program)
M1-M2 grades: Not ranked, all P/F
M3-4 grades: Honors (IM and FM, and Medicine AI), High pass w/ clinical honors (OB, surgery, psych, peds),
Step 1: P
Step 2: 257
Class rank: (unsure but based primarily on third-year grades so I assume average or just below average??)
AOA: No
GHHS: Not applicable

Research:
-5 publications total: Four 2nd-4th author publications technically in a surgical specialty I briefly considered but my projects focused on substance use/socioeconomic stuff that I can tie into IM + 1 basic science paper from undergrad
- 1 book (academic non-fiction book but not a peer-reviewed textbook)...side note- what category does this go in?
-2 abstracts
- 3 posters
-2 additional projects in the works.

Extracurriculars: Volunteering at a shelter, mentoring, teaching, No leadership

LORs (all anticipated to be strong):
- M4 IM Sub-I preceptor x 2
- M4 heme onc preceptor x 1
- IM Chair letter

Geographic Signaling: Northeast (hometown and close family ties),

Red flags: None

Goals:
- Interested in heme onc or doing IM primary care..(more likely heme onc because absolutely loved my last 2 months in it but still not 100% sure)
- because of fellowship interest, looking at academic places that have matched in heme onc before (I've screened the programs below)

Programs:
Targets: Albany, UMass- Worcester & Baystate, Tufts, UConn, UPMC, RWJ, BU, Temple, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Icahn

Reaches: Dartmouth, BI, BWH, MGH, Yale, Brown, UPenn, NYU, Mount Sinai, Columbia, UCSF, Stanford

-Are these targets/reaches reasonable or too top-heavy?? I was told my third years grades aren't stellar so that will affect my ranking.
I also met with our "temp" career advisor and they had literally no advice to give about school lists or anything. I would ideally like to stay in the NE or maybe cali because other family nearby (but only threw in a few reach programs there)..
-Any other programs to add?
I grew up in a rural area and hope to practice in a rural/community setting, however, I want to train at a high-volume academic institution to get as much exposure as possible. I can talk about this in my PS too..

Your tiers are kinda all over the place but thats okay-i would make some changes to the programs you mentioned:

Targets: Brown Dartmouth Tufts BU Jeff

Targets/(soft) Reach-Yale BIDMC NYU Sinai

Reaches: Columbia UCSF MGH BWH Stanford UPenn

Overall strong app you have some good research great Step score and solid clinical grades. things holding you back from your reaches are med school tier and lack of AOA

 

[medlife52525]

Your tiers are kinda all over the place but thats okay-i would make some changes to the programs you mentioned:

Targets: Brown Dartmouth Tufts BU Jeff

Targets/(soft) Reach-Yale BIDMC NYU Sinai

Reaches: Columbia UCSF MGH BWH Stanford UPenn

Overall strong app you have some good research great Step score and solid clinical grades. things holding you back from your reaches are med school tier and lack of AOA

That's super helpful- thanks so much for clarifying!!

 

[Deecee2DO]

That's super helpful- thanks so much for clarifying!!

Seems like you have zero geo preference? id Add: UVA, UNC, Temple, RWJ, Wake Forest, Cleveland Clinic Main, UWisconsin, UMinnesota, UColorado, UCSD, UCLA, UMiami (you better speak spanish fluently though for Umiami), UMaryland, Georgetown, Case, Rochester to targets and Cornell, Northwestern, Emory, Mayo and Michigan to soft reaches. Keep in mind CA programs likely look for some sort of ties to the region/state

 

[medlife52525]

Seems like you have zero geo preference? id Add: UVA, UNC, Temple, RWJ, Wake Forest, Cleveland Clinic Main, UWisconsin, UMinnesota, UColorado, UCSD, UCLA, UMiami (you better speak spanish fluently though for Umiami), UMaryland, Georgetown, Case, Rochester to targets and Cornell, Northwestern, Emory, Mayo and Michigan to soft reaches. Keep in mind CA programs likely look for some sort of ties to the region/state

My geographic preference is the northeast and so I only listed programs from there for the most part.. (with 1-2 reaches in California). I was born in cali and lived there a while before moving to the northeast.

 

[ManOfDingle]

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